Unfortunately I agree, I love Dark Souls and got deep into the lore. People were wondering why so many dragons were used in the trailer expecting it to be a prequel to the original game. My answer is simple, one of the biggest selling points of Skyrim was dragons, it works the same way as including zombies into a game. Its a marketing technique to rake in all those gamers than bought Skyrim.

Launching on a new console, being one of, possibly the only fantasy rpg to be released 2013/2014 gives them a huge opportunity to reach a lot of gamers. They won't do this if they keep the original formula because you have to put some effort in to learn the gameplay mechanics and story. Therefore I am expecting story told through character cutscenes, more hack and slash battle system (taking on several enemies at a time) dumbed down levelling system and a more linear storyline. Essentially wrecking everything that made the Souls series great.

Ps. Souls games are not hard, you just have to be smart and learn the enemies attack patterns and it also has the best story of any game I have ever played.

you clearly don't play many games from FROM SOFTWARE. even their "dumbed down" accessible games are deeper than 90% of the games out there. also they have stated many times now since the announcement, just the beginning few hours will be easier and more accessible. presumably to hook more players in right away so that when it amps up the difficulty and depth those same players are already invested and more willing to take the leap. its a good strategy imo.

that said, it has a lot to live up to since demon and dark souls are imo, the two best games this gen. take all the time you need. if i have to wait until '14 then thats what i will do.

Well, the demo showed to journalists a few weeks ago certainly hints at next gen graphics. It was running on a relatively high end PC and featured far better visuals and performance than the last game (a generational leap, by the sounds of it), so this is not surprising.